GREENEVILLE, Tenn. -- Augusta State topped Anderson 78-72 Friday afternoon in the South Atlantic Conference/Peach Belt Conference Challenge in Pioneer Arena on the campus of Tusculum College. The non-conference contest marked the season opener for both squads.
With the victory, ASU (1-0) won its fifth straight season opener and registered its 11th straight regular-season win dating back to last season.
Junior guard Tye Beal, making his first career start, scored a career-high 22 points and handed out three assists with a steal. Senior guard George Johnson booked 20 points and four steals in his Jaguar debut and senior forward Franck Ndongo booked 16 points and grabbed a team-high seven rebounds to go along with two assists and two steals.
Anderson, which won 24 games last season and advanced to the NCAA Tournament's Round of 32 before falling to the Jags (100-70), was paced by Denzail Jones' 17 points. Brandon Young and Taylor Shugart chipped in 10 points each.
Beal's effort was the third double-figure game of his career. His previous career high of 13 points occurred vs. Lander on Feb. 27, 2010 in Christenberry Fieldhouse.
ASU shot 52.2 percent (24-of-46) overall and 83.3 percent from the free-throw line, connecting on 25-of-30 attempts. The Jags outrebounded the Trojans 25-23 and committed 14 turnovers to AU's 16 miscues.
ASU, which shot 63.2 percent in the second half, never trailed and led by as many as 18 in the second half following a Ndongo layup at the 13:07 mark. The Trojans got within four of the lead on two separate occasions late in the game, the last on a pair of Young free throws with 26 seconds remaining.
Sophomore guard Ben Purser and Johnson drained four free throws in the final 15 seconds to hold off AU's comeback attempt. The Jags, who dressed only nine players, were without the services of sophomore forward Travis Keels (ankle injury) and freshman forward Devon Wright-Nelson (foot injury).
ASU's five starters were all making their first career start, including senior forward Howard Brown and junior point guard O'Neal Armstrong.
ASU takes on tournament host Tusculum Saturday afternoon on day two of the SAC/PBC Challenge at 4:00 p.m.
